In a few hours, we will hear which film has bagged the Best Picture award at the 2022 Oscars. Currently, it lies between Netflix’s The Power of the Dog and Apple’s CODA. As for the former, both the film and the production house have had a rich history at the Oscars. While Apple TV+ is seeing its entrance into the Academy Awards, it has other precursors in its favor. Which of these films and production houses are up for the win?

Netflix at the Oscars—A story filled with almosts

Netflix has made quite the name as a production house. It has numerous critically acclaimed projects such as The Crown, When They See Us, and The Queen’s Gambit under its wing. However, the mark it has left at the Academy Award is barely a series of scratches.

Over the last 9 years, Netflix has had 116 nominations in 24 categories. Nonetheless, it has only managed to win 15 awards in 11 categories. In the five major categories (Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Actress, and Best Screenplay), it has only one winner with Alfonso Cuarón taking home the award for Best Director for his work in Roma.

This isn’t to say that Netflix has had no exceptional performances. Films like Roma, The Irishman, Mank and The Trial of the Chicago 7 have had at least 2-3 nominations in the Big Five categories. However, none of them made the cut. With The Power of the Dog having nominations in four of the five categories, things are going strong for Netflix this year.

The Netflix Original received nominations in the categories of Best Picture, Best Director (Jane Campion), Best Actor (Benedict Cumberbatch), and Best Adapted Screenplay. The streaming giant seemed to have a strong chance of finally winning the award for Best Picture. Add to this the chances of Kodi Smit-McPhee and Jesse Plemons as nominees for the Best Supporting Actor and Kirsten Dunst as Best Supporting Actress, The Power of the Dog has an enormous potential to win the award.

Yet, the chances of the same seem to be getting bleaker by the moment as the audience seems to collectively favor Apple’s CODA over the Netflix Original.

Apple’s first appearance at the Oscars

CODA is Apple’s first nomination for the Best Picture Award. The Power of the Dog remains the most nominated picture this year. However, Netflix’s history of not having many winners pushes against the film. CODA, on the other hand, has three nominations with two of them being in the Big Five categories.

CODA’s wins at the Screen Actors Guild and The Producer’s Guild Awards seem to take the high tide. If we’re to look at historical precursors, the chances of CODA winning this year get larger. Both the accolades have aligned with most of the winners at the Academy Awards.

https://twitter.com/SAGawards/status/1498415027505680385

22 of the previous 32 PGA winners have bagged the top prizes at the Oscars. Another significant award that drives the probability of CODA winning over The Power of the Dog is the Screen Actors Guild Ensemble Award. The heartwarming Apple TV+ features a trio of Deaf Actors (Marlee Martin, Troy Katsur, and Daniel Durant, along with newcomer Emilia Jones).

This marks the first time the deaf community was recognized at the SAGs, making it a significant moment for the community. The inclusivity is also the reason most fans seem to support CODA over The Power of the Dog.

The SAG Awards are some of the biggest predictors for Academy Award winners. Then again, the chances of The Power of the Dog breaking the streak of Netflix’s unfortunate history at the Academy Awards aren’t bleak either. After all, the movie did win a BAFTA and has the most nominations this year.

Which one of these films will make history at the 2022 Oscars? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.

The Power of the Dog is streaming on Netflix.